Overview
- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued preliminary injunctions that stop the FTC from enforcing broad document demands against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society.
- The judge said the record strongly suggests the agency acted out of hostility toward the groups’ support for gender-affirming care, linking it to presidential orders to curb recognition of transgender people and halt support for youth care.
- The court also found the probes had chilled protected speech, noting testimony that leaders cut back educational programs and changed how they communicate internally.
- The FTC says it is checking whether consumers were exposed to false or unsupported claims about gender-affirming care and had sought years of internal records, communications, finances, and conference materials.
- The orders are preliminary and put the FTC’s inquiry on hold for these groups, with a similar case by the American Academy of Pediatrics still awaiting a ruling.